Dark Truth
by Baelparagon
Summary: The fall from grace does not come from believing a beautiful lie, but from perceiving a terrible truth. For Cody Heather is his painful truth, one he will embrace sooner or later. Codther Nizzy. IMPORTANT read end of chapter three and rvw.Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1: Revelations

**Hello everybody, this is my first ever total drama story featuring Heather and Cody. Coming back from the most recent TDROI episode, Cody decides to give Heather a piece of his mind. Things don't turn out as he thought they would however and his perspective may be changed forever. Rated T for language and a little tension. Bold=emphasis, **"dialogue", _Italics=thoughts._

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><p>"You're a terrible person you know that?" Heather looked over from the juice bar at Casa de Losers where she and the old and eliminated cast members were currently waiting to see Cody standing behind her. The resort was empty for that day, the majority of the cast having headed into town for the day. She had gotten back from her cameo appearance in TDR and had been sitting at the table, just waiting for the heckling to start. For Cody to be the one to throw down the gauntlet was...amusing. "Interesting question, you'd like to provide some evidence for that claim?"<p>

Cody blinked at this, it wasn't the reaction he had been expecting from the girl. If anything he figured she would tell him to shut up at the very least.

"We'll where to begin, should I start with the things you've done to people, how you took pleasure in their pain. Or perhaps I should show how you took Lindsay who trusted you and how you threw her under the bus? Or maybe, just maybe the way you destroyed Gwen and Trent's relationship for a stinking advantage?" This last comment made Heather start laughing, something that got Cody's ire up. "I fail to see what's so funny about that?"

Heather got her laughter under control, wiping a tear from her eye. "Oh Cody you good natured fool, you really think that I destroyed their relationship? Between Gwen's self-serving sense of right and wrong and Trent's mental breakdown, that thing was doomed from the start. I just greased the wheels a little." Cody crossed his arms, a frown apparent on his face. "And Lindsay?"

"Lindsay is a dumb bimbo with big tits who has trouble remembering her boyfriend's name. If it wasn't for her looks she wouldn't even be on this show. I saw her for the pawn she is and used her, if I hadn't someone else simply would have."

Cody snorted at this, sitting in the stool next to the queen bee. "You know, not everybody is like you Heather." Heather looked away and closed her eyes, putting the drink to her lips. "Your right, the majority of them are much worse than I am." It was Cody's turn to laugh this time, Heather looking at the small geek with an upraised eyebrow.

"Don't believe me huh, we'll I have a little challenge for you. Pick a contestant from our group, any contestant except DJ and yourself and I'll can almost guarantee that they'll be as bad as me. You win I'll give you a kiss, I win and...we'll I win."

Cody leaned back in his chair, thinking hard for a minute. He felt like this might be a trick, some other ploy by the raven haired girl. Looking at her simply amused face though he had to conclude there was nothing happening that could benefit her from this.

"Alright...explain to me...Beth. Why do you hate her?" Heather sat back, eyes closed as the gears in her head turned.

"Because she pretends to be this nice down to earth person when really she's just a parasite who latches onto others. Her particular obsession with becoming popular and accepted sickens me." Cody looked at her askance, unable to believe what she was saying. "You insulted Leshawna when you brought up her not being popular, how can you judge her for wanting it as much as you do?"

"Simple, because I had to kick and claw my way to the top like any other girl before me, with makeup and the right clothes and the** attitude **to go with it. Others can hate me for that, but I earned my spot at the top of the pecking order. But Beth, Beth didn't have the drive or ability to get where I am, so she did what insecure girls like her always try to do. They cling onto somebody who is tough enough and tries to ride with them to the top. Beth only stopped being my lackey when she realized I had no intention of bringing her with me. She a parasite, and that's all. Next person."

Cody wanted to argue with her, wanted to prove her wrong. But the more he thought about it the more he remembered how Beth had clung to Heather, and how after she was eliminated she did the same to Lindsay. As well as when she took Lindsay's DNA and betrayed her for Courtney. Feeling shaken by this new image of his friend he looked at Heather, hands clasped together nervously.

"I don't exactly agree with you, but I can't argue with you at the moment. What about Geoff?" Heather scoffed at this one, looking at him incredulously.

"I thought you might bring up party animal, this will be too easy. During most of season one he acted like the nice guy, he honestly had me fooled for a while. But during that episode he was helping Duncan and the others torture Harold we got a glimpse of his true side. It only got stronger as he became the host of the aftermath show. Dropped anvils, bombs, wrecking balls, an electric chair, he was willing to put us into dangerous situations, all for a laugh."

"So would you." Cody said, scratching the back of his head. "Perhaps, but only if it was for gain or revenge, needless cruelty is wasted energy. You may see my actions as damnable, but my actions always had a reason to them, however selfish they may be. Geoff did it just to get his rocks off, and nobody really seemed to care" Cody frowned at this, trying to think of an argument. Suddenly one hit him, causing him to look up triumphantly.

"But it wasn't like with you who does these things on your own. Duncan prompted Geoff to pick on Harold, hell he even got DJ to do it. And Chris-" Heather cut him off, irritation in her eyes.

"Two things, first DJ is a nice guy but is an absolute coward and wimp, a three year old could order him around if they had enough willpower. Second, you can't create or cultivate cruelty in a person, you can only give it a push in the right direction. It was Hitler who helped push the German people to commit the holocaust, does that excuse the actions of those who carried out his will? That they were simply following orders?"

Cody didn't answer, knowing there was no argument he could make. The image he had of the fun loving Geoff was being pushed out by the cruel one he had seen on the show. He came out of it as Heather continued.

"We're all responsible for our actions, I understand the path I follow will alienate people from me, but that is why Geoff is so despicable to me. He acts so kind one moment, only to be cruel to those who nobody will speak up for. And yet he feels like he can sit on that show and judge others for their flaws. He's crueler than I am, for the simple fact I don't deny my actions or guilt."

Cody didn't say anything, as he had placed his hands on the counter to try and get them to stop shaking. Part of him wanted to run from this, to leave so he couldn't hear her venomous words. And yet he couldn't pull away, even as he felt something shifting in him, something he knew if he allowed it could never go back. His internal conflict was stopped when he felt Heathers hand on his shoulder, her eyes the same cruel black they always were, and yet they seemed less harsh, less icy.

"This is...hard for you Cody, and not because these people are your so called friends. But because you want to see the good in everybody, even people like Duncan and Chris, even me. But this attempt to see the angel on one shoulder blinds you from the devil on the other. If you wish to be free you have to open your eyes to both." _N-No this can't be right...this can't be the way things are!_

"I-I still have one more person to put forth." Heather removed her hand from his shoulder, her eyes reverting back to their usual hard edge. "Indeed you do, so who will it be? Trent the future mental patient? Leshawna the violent scheming ghetto wannabe? Or do you want to give Alejandro a shot?" Heather said this with a confident grin, leaning back in her stool with a relaxed manner

Cody's mind was racing as he struggled to think of someone, anyone that was free from some despicable act. It was hard though, every time someone popped in his head he saw them doing something terrible. Bridgette cheating with Alejandro, Ezekiel and his sexist comments, Courtney...Cody shuddered, remembering the look of rage on the girls face when she had chased Harold down the lamp post.

_Wait that's it! Harold is perfect for this, he's nice, he stood up to Duncan and he's loyal to his friends. She can't possibly hate him._ He looked at her with a confident smile on his face, knowing with Harold he couldn't lose.

"Gwen." The moment the name came out of his mouth two things happened. The first was his face shifted into an expression of horror, while her face shifted into a predatory grin at the sight of his face. _Wait, why did I say that, I meant to say Harold!_

"I can tell you didn't mean to bring up Weird Goth Girl, but I'm sorry, no take backs. Now I could bring up a lot of things, her relationships with Trent and Duncan being the most prominent but that would be too easy. So to give you a fighting chance I'll ask you, do you think Gwen deserves your friendship?"

"O-Of course she does, Gwen has been good to me." Heather's grin shifted into a sympathetic smile, her eyes, heathers eyes actually showing sympathy. She stood up, towering over the smaller boy. "Really, after all the times she's hit you, all the times she told you to go away and ignored you? How she never even considered giving you a chance, but was willing to go out with a gutter punk like Duncan?"

"I...n-no y-you're just stretching things, making things larger th-than they are." Heather chuckled in a sad way at this, closing the distance between the two. He tried to scoot himself back but that was a mistake as his stool began teetering back, causing him to start falling back. Her hands however grasped the chair, leaving him perched in a precarious position, feeling as if he was going to fall. Whether that was off the stool or something else entirely he couldn't tell, as his vision was blocked by the sight of Heathers hair, the scent of her perfume pervading his smell, strong yet bittersweet. He could sense her lips close to his ear, her breath wafting by him. When she spoke it was in a low tone, almost a whisper that he had to strain to hear.

"You can lie to me Cody, he'll you can lie to the world till your face turns blue, but you can't lie to yourself. Now tell me, does Gwen deserve to have your friendship, your admiration, your **love**?" Cody's mind was racing, he felt a million things moving through him but he couldn't comprehend them. It was simply too much, her words, her smell, her presence, all the painful truths about Geoff, about Beth all of them swirling together until even Gwen-

"No, she doesn't." With those two words all the different things that had been swirling in him came crashing down, the thoughts that had been secretly plaguing him for the past two seasons finally shutting up. He felt himself righted as Heather rebalanced him, pulling her head back far enough to look him in the eyes again. "And the truth will set you free."

Before the meaning of those could set in she pressed her lips against his, his eyes widening as large as dinner plates. For the few brief moments they were connected he forgot about the discussion they had, the terrible truths he finally recognized, all he could think of was how someone so cruel could have lips that were so soft. Eventually she pulled away and he felt himself torn, wanting to feel more but hating himself for it.

"Why?" It was a question, but in some ways it also wasn't. Heather shrugged, eyes boring into his. "Consolation prize. And now you can never say that I'm without mercy." She picked up the last of her drink, gulping it down and setting it down, the empty glass clunking with the counter.

"I suppose though you're not asking so much about the kiss but about this, why I simply didn't storm of or blow you off?" When Cody nodded she put her chin in her hand.

"Perhaps it's because I have some shred of sympathy for you, watching you try to be so good when almost no one else will. Perhaps I feel some sort of connection with you, watching as you struggle to get what you want. Or maybe I'm just doing this for my own pleasure, watching you squirm. The real question you should be asking is why did you listen?" Cody didn't say anything, knowing yet not acknowledging the dark truth that scratched away at him.

"Harold, DJ, Owen, Izzy, Noah and you. What is it that makes you similar to me but separates us from the others?" Cody thought about this but was drawing blanks. Shrugging Heather simply continued.

"We're true to our nature and we don't apologize or make excuses for it. We follow our own path, wherever that may lead us. Most people are just neutral, they aren't good or evil, they just go along with whatever benefits them the most at the time. That or they just don't have the **balls** to say they don't care. It's both hypocritical and cowardly, and I rightly despise them."

"So what am I suppose to do, manipulate people like you, be a smart ass like Noah? Or should I go insane like Izzy?" Heather looked at him, a true frown pointed at him for the first time since this conversation began.

"None of the above, it's your life and I won't tell you how to live it. But there are two things you should do for yourself. First be true to who you are, whether that means staying as you are, or changing to meet what you truly are." Coming out of Heather's mouth the line would have sounded corny at any other time, but not this one. "And the second?" He asked, feeling drained more than he had in a long time.

"That's simple, don't ever apologize for living your life that way. The opinions of the majority weak will not stop me from achieving what I want, and neither should it stop you." From outside they heard vehicles pulling up to the resort, tires skidding on the pavement.

"That'll be the loser brigade. It was...amusing to talk with you Cody but I don't feel like talking with the inferior right now." Pushing herself from the bar she walked away, turning the corner just as the group entered the resort. As they split up some of the group approached him, obviously wanting something from him.

"Hey string bean, have you seen that witch Heather around?" Leshawna asked, a snarky grin plastered on her face. An image passed through his mind of Leshawna tackling Heather after she tried to warn her about Alejandro. He responded back in a dead voice, something that seemed off to the group. "No, I haven't seen her today."

"Maybe she hasn't come back yet, I mean she did crash into the lake. Those mutated creatures might have gotten her" Bridgette said this, causing the group for the most part to chuckle. Surprising (or perhaps unsurprisingly Cody wasn't sure) Noah, Izzy and Harold were nowhere to be seen in the group and DJ and Owen looked uncomfortable at this. When Gwen said this next statement he was surprised to feel a sliver of anger worm it's way into him.

"I very much doubt we'd be that lucky, Heather always has a way of slithering her way back." When Duncan started laughing at this, putting his arm around her Cody had enough. He stood up from the bar, walking casually but quickly away from the group.

"What's his problem anyway?" Leshawna asked the others, who merely shrugged in reply. Unbeknownst to them however a certain raven haired girl had not walked as far away as Cody thought, eavesdropping from around the corner at the group. Watching Cody walk away a grin crept its way onto her face, pleased with herself today. Hearing all she needed to she turned and headed towards her room, a brisk step in her walk.

_We'll I may have lost the money, but I think I accomplished something better today. They all think they're better than me, but I can see something they can't, the true value of someone. Gwen has no idea what she's given up, but she will, once I've crushed her and every other person who thinks to get in my way. Only then will I shatter the little fantasy world they live in, one person at a time._

Reaching the doorway to her room she opened it up just as Gwen and Duncan rounded the hallway. Spotting her they began moving towards her, no doubt to rub her loss in her face, when she simply smiled at them. Whatever plans they had, whatever self righteous things they were about to say all ended at the sight of that predatory smile. Before they could recover or shrug of the intensity of it she entered her room, shutting the door behind her.

_I win...so I win._

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><p><strong>First total drama story, hope you all liked it. By the way this isn't my personal view of most of the characters, but I imagine it would be Heathers. And she's not completely off track with it either. We'll I'll decide whether to continue this or not but it was fun writing it. Let me know what you thought and Happy Saint Patrick's day.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2: Counseling

**Chapter two is set for takeoff. I will warn you this fic will paint many of the characters in a darker light, as I find too many fics show everyone becoming good in the end. But in life I find that's hardly the case. Many people I've met has become worse over time, not better, while others have simply remained the same. Just if I bash someone, don't say you weren't warned.**

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><p>For Cody the day had passed by like a blur, his mind buzzing over the conversation. He thought it through a hundred different ways, but it all came out to the same harsh conclusion. <em>I...I know they're not perfect but they can't really...I mean it's not like she's exactly unbiased. Maybe I should discuss this with someone else.<em> Cody was walking through the hallway from breakfast when he heard a pair of voices talking, one of them excited and hyper while the other was snarky and slightly angry.

"For the last time Izzy it was just an accident, it meant nothing!" The other voice answered back, humor evident in the voice. "Are you sure, because when you were doing it you seemed to be enjoying it a lot. Plus there's a lot of slash fans who-" At this Cody knocked on the door, having heard enough to know who the other voice was.

No sooner had he knocked then the door flew open, finding himself face to face with the grinning redhead. "Cody, I'm glad you're hear I need you to answer something for me. Wait hold on a second." She stuck her head out the door looking to the left and right. Spotting a wisp of purple hair behind a potted plant she whipped her hand into his pocket, pulling a pen from it.

"Sierra look, Cody let me have this pen earlier, hey it's even purpl- whoops." Saying whoops she chucked it down the hall into an open door. No sooner had she done so then Sierra bolted from her stalker position, running into the room. Izzy back flipped down the room, slamming the door shut and propping a chair against it. The door began to shake and tremble, the crazed fan trying to get out of the room. Fortunately Izzy grabbed Cody and ran into the room with him, quickly closing the door before she could get out.

Noah for his part simply raised an eyebrow at his fellow nerd, about as sympathetic as he got. "Still having stalker problems I see." Cody simply groaned, flopping down into a chair opposite from him. "I lose more possessions like that every day. I don't understand, I thought we reached an understanding after the plane blew up."

"You don't end a person's obsession by giving them the best friend status, you should know that's only like putting gasoline on the fire. Your too nice for your own good you know." Cody rubbed the back of his head, a tired expression on his face. "Actually that's part of what I wanted to talk to you about. You go some time?" Noah simply quirked his forehead, as if to say _do I have anything else right now?_

"Right we'll I wanted to ask you-" Izzy cut in on the conversation, a mad glint in her eye. "You want to ask Noah out to a night of fun, police chases and romance? Aww that is so sweet." For about the twelfth time that day Noah's eyebrows scrunched together in frustration, teeth clenched together.

"For the last time Izzy, Cody is not gay and neither am I." Izzy's manic grin was replaced with a skeptical one, eyes staring down the bookworm. "Really, you're going to have to lie better than that to be able to fool-"

Noah having reached his wits end after weeks of this pestering snapped. He reached his hand forward, grasping Izzy's hand and pulling her down into a kiss. To say Cody was surprised was quite an understatement.

Noah was even more surprised when the snap of a camera went off, looking to see his cell phone _how did she even get it? _currently pointed directly at the two. Izzy leapt up from her position, alook of victory plastered on her face. "YES! Now I can go rub this in Sierra's and all those fan girls faces. HAHAHAHA!" Doing this she flipped her way out of the room, somehow opening the door while still in motion then closing it just as fast. Noah simply sat there, a frustrated look written across his face.

"Umm Noah?" Cody's voice snapped him out of it, causing him to look over and glare at the boy. "Not one word Cody, not one do you understand?" The boy nodded his head, amazed at the anger coming from the boy. What he didn't realize was that Noah's anger was only half at being tricked so easily, the other half was that the kiss had ended. "Was there something you wanted to discuss, or are you just here to hide from your future kidnapper?"

"Yeah yesterday when you all went into town..." Cody preceded to tell what happened, trying to censor it at first. Eventually though Noah pulled the rest of the story out of him, even the part about the kiss.

"We'll it's interesting to learn that Heather can kiss someone without ending a relationship or the ability to have kids-" Noah stopped for a moment, grinning at the memory of Al's descent down the mountain. Coming back to reality he focused on Cody, face shifting back into a neutral expression. "I must wonder why is this such a big deal to you?"

"D-Do you think she's right, about everything she said?" Noah leaned back for a minute, eyes closed in contemplation. After a minute or so he opened them, hands folded over his chest. "For the most part, yeah she has it right on." Cody didn't say anything, having possibly expected this answer but hoping to hear otherwise. "We'll I guess that nails it down then, but I just don't understand."

Noah sat back up, lifting a leg to scratch his ankle. "Is it you don't understand their behavior, or you just don't understand why you feel so conflicted about this." Slumping down Cody put a hand over his eye's, rubbing them hard. "I don't know...both I suppose."

"We'll as to yourself I can't help you there, only you can truly know what plagues you. But in regards to **them ** it's quite simple. Television is like alcohol in a way, it gets people to act in a way they wouldn't otherwise. That's not to say that the television creates the behavior." He said this sternly, making sure Cody understood this. "It simply brings out the part of them that is their true nature, but that they hide away in order to be accepted as _normal_. So, now that your eyes are a little more open what are you going to do?"

Cody shrugged, eyes looking at his counterpart weakly. "I don't know, part of me wishes I could go back to the way I used to think but...that's not possible. I guess I'll just do whatever feels right. Thanks for listening Noah." Noah waved him off, face set indifferently. "Don't worry about it, it was entertaining to hear at the very least. Let's play video games some time."

Saying he would Cody stood up, heading towards the door. He got out into the hall and was about to close it when Noah called out to him. "Cody, a word of advice. Don't be surprised if Heather comes to you soon. She may have been only telling you the truth, but it's doubtful she did it for kicks. She always has a reason for her actions." Cody nodded taking these actions to heart, before closing the door leaving Noah by himself.

Noah waited until he was sure Cody wasn't near the door when he turned to his window, revealing none other than a grinning Izzy sitting on the window sill. "I assume you heard all of that." Izzy shrugged, flipping down to her feet. "I heard enough, so what's that massive brain telling you, know what she's planning?"

Noah sighed sitting back down in his chair. "No idea, but we should keep an eye on him. At least for awhile." Noah looked over, seeing his cell phone tucked in her pocket. "You didn't really show that to Sierra did you?" Izzy grinned maniacally at this, sashaying towards the smart ass. "Know, but I did say there was a video of you and Cody kissing again online to her. That should keep her occupied for at least a few days."

While Noah was pissed at her for spreading another yaoi rumor, he was impressed at her planning. "You know that's going to come back to bite both Cody and I in the ass eventually." Izzy simply opened up the phone, putting it onto video setting. "Cody's done for anyway, just like my Uncle Rico, oh I remember the explosion it was so awesome. When I saw him go flying-"

"Izzy, get to the point." While most girls would have found this disrespectful Izzy simply took on the countenance of the Cheshire cat, causing Noah's warning bells to go off. "We'll as I was saying he's screwed, but there is one way to disprove those rumors." Before he could respond she leapt onto him, planting a heavy one on his lips. He struggled for a second before his brain told him it was useless, simply giving into the pleasure.

He probably would have struggled more if he realized the video was streaming live on the internet.

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><p><strong>Resort Lobby<strong>

Heather was sitting down in the lobby, a fashion magazine in one hand while she twirled a set of keys in the other. A frown was evident on her face as she pretended to read the magazine. She had managed to avoid the "good" squad for most of yesterday, but unfortunately this morning...

_earlier this morning..._

_"Hey queen bitch, how was your swim in the lake?" Heather looked up from her breakfast to see Duncan and Gwen standing in front of her, both of them looking smugly at her. "Get bent dead beat, at least I did something better than blowing up a Chris McLean head." Gwen snorted at this, crossing her arms across her chest._

_"Yeah, causing crashing a blimp into a shark and nuclear waste infested lake is so much cooler." Heather quirked her eye at her, taking a sip of coffee before setting it down, face in an indifferent expression. "Sorry could you repeat that Gwen? I don't speak the language of pasty faced whore's."_

_While Gwen's eyes went wide at the insult, Duncan turned red, lowering his head down to stare at the girl. "Listen up Heather, don't you __**ever**__ insult my girl like that again. __**Understood?**__" He said this last part with his fists clenched trying to look intimidating. Heather looked off behind the two, a grin plastered on her face. "Oh hello Courtney, didn't see you standing there."_

_Duncan lost his anger as he and Gwen turned around, a slight bit of fear wormed into his eyes. When they saw no one was there they turned around only to see the chair Heather had sat in was empty. The girl for her part had left the room in the confusion, and while she was calm on the outside inside she had to admit Duncan had shook her up a little bit._

_Back to the present..._

"...Heather, hey Heather are you alright? Yoo-hoo anybody there?" Heather came out of her recollection to see Cody standing in front of her, waving a hand in her face. _He's concerned, how...quaint._ She slapped the hand out of her face, albeit not to roughly. "I'm fine Cody, just thinking about some people." She didn't say anymore, but for Cody he could sense the anger behind the calm front.

"Anything I can do to help?" Heather raised an eyebrow at the request, but shook her head no. "Thanks, but there's nothing I can do at the moment, perhaps later. My car just got here, let's take a ride, make sure my brother didn't gut it for toy money." Standing up she walked out of the building, not waiting for the boy to respond. She did smile though when she heard Cody walking up behind her, pleased that the boy didn't argue or question her.

Going into the parking lot they walked up to a red convertible, the paintjob gleaming brightly in the light. The interior had dark leather seats, and could easily fit five people. Cody whistled at the vehicle, even his parents not driving as nice a car as this. "This car is really nice Heather." The girl in question scoffed, opening up her door and sliding behind the wheel. "Of course it is, you think I'd be caught in something that wasn't. Hop in, there's something I want to talk to you about."

Cody did as he was told, trying to sit in the car in a cool way. The effect was somewhat ruined when he realized A.) she wasn't paying attention and B.) his seat literally put him below the car door.

"If you don't want to be mistaken for my little brother you can use the buttons on the side to raise your seat." Nodding at this a little bashfully he raised the seat up as she turned the car and pulled out, driving away from the resort. It would have gone as perfectly as she wanted if there exit had not been spotted by a passing blonde surfer, eyes wide at the sight of the two together.

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><p><strong>We'll the plot thickens a bit, hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to upload in larger chunks in the future, but for now I'm just laying down the ground work. We'll thanks for reading and let me know what you think. Cya.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Classified

**Third upload of this story. After this I will be taking a two week break from this story. This week I have midterms so exams and papers to write and the week after will be a combination of spring break as we'll as updating my biggest story Yamada Clans. If you happen to read Bleach stories I'd love if you read it and gave me your thoughts on it. Anyways hope you enjoy this chapter and have a good week. Plz review. Bold= emphasis/location and time. Read the end notes for an important announcement.**

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><p><strong>Heather and Cody<strong>

The red convertible passed through the woods surrounding the loser resort, and for Cody he couldn't feel better. Since arriving back from TDWT it had been a tense situation for him, with Sierra breathing down his neck and Duncan and Courtney both hunting for him, the latter for punching him out and the latter for helping Gwen stay in the game. He hadn't realized how tense he had been until he got out of there.

"So Heather, what is it you wanted to talk about?' Cody asked as he looked over at the girl, curious about this whole thing. Heather was sitting back calmly one hand on the steering wheel as her hair blew behind her, an emotionless expression on her face. "We'll get to that once we get where I want to go, but let me ask you something first, after this show is done what are your going to do?"

Cody was surprised to hear this question, he didn't think Heather would care about something like that. "I'm not really sure...I guess I've been so caught up in the drama and the contest that I've never thought about it."

"We'll no matter, you still have time before our contracts are up. Just keep in mind that we won't be on this show forever, which I think is a blessing." Heather said, eyes focused on the road. They had just reached the edge of town when Cody responded to her. "I know this won't last forever...but part of me wishes it would."

Heather looked over at him, an eyebrow raised in question before turning back to watch the road. "You really like being on this show, which puts you at the mercies of people like Duncan and Alejandro and almost kills us on a daily basis?"

Cody shook his head, deciding to explain further. "It's not that part that I'm going to miss, to be frank it'll be a relief not having to be mauled by a bear or Sierra in the future. It's just...back where I'm from I'm a bit of an outcast at my school. The popular kids see me as nerd and the unpopular kids think I'm a prep because of my parents money. As for the girls-"

"They see you as a pervert, yes I know. But can you blame them exactly. I have to admit re-watching the first season you were a little stalkerish towards Gwen. Like when you sniffed her hair." Cody blushed a little at this, not unnoticed by Heather. "S-So I was a little bit, I got better and besides I helped set her up with- we'll I guess that doesn't matter anymore. My point is that I was kind of a nobody back home, and considering how last season went that's probably the best I have to hope for."

Heather didn't say anything at first, weaving her way through the streets of the town. Spotting an open parking spot she turned the car into the spot, shutting the car off with a flick of the wrist. "I don't know about that, despite some of your earlier...mishaps you're definitely a fan favorite. Besides look at some of the morons who have been popular on TV, you definitely could have a far worse reputation." The two stepped out of the car, Heather activating the roof of the vehicle an locking it. She began walking down the street, Cody running to catch up.

"So, where are we going, or is that some kind of secret as well?" Heather shook her head, amused by the sarcasm. "No, no secret, there's a cafe I happen to like in this town. The coffee's good and it's fairly secluded so I doubt we'll have any run ins with our cast mates." Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cody get a disappointed look on his face, one he hid very quickly.

"I hear they have some excellent pastries and candy, not that I'd ever-" At the mention of candy Cody's eyes went wide, an almost childlike expression on her face. He reached over and grabbed her hand, running down the street.

"Come on Heather, the candy is calling me!" Cody yelled as he almost dragged her along, eyes scanning the street excitedly. Heather for herself was struggling to keep up, a very slight red tint on her cheeks. "Wait Cody, we're going the wrong way!"

* * *

><p><strong>The Loser Resort<strong>

"You sure about this girl, you saw the two of them leaving together?" Bridgette nodded at this, causing Leshawna's forehead to crease in a frown. She and Harold had been eating breakfast in the dining room when Bridgette had entered the building, heading straight towards and spilling the beans to her. "So why did the two leave together, did they say anything or do anything?"

Bridgette shook her head, looking straight at the two. "No I only saw them as they were leaving, I was too far away to hear anything. I don't understand why they'd be together, as far as I know they barely spoke to each other." Leshawna scoffed, sitting back in her chair.

"Girl that's not complicated at all, she's a manipulator and he's a known pervert. The question is what she wants from him." Harold who happened to be friends with both of them was in an uncomfortable position, he didn't want to piss off his crush but he didn't want to hear them get bashed either. As a friend though he knew he had to say something.

"I don't think it's like that, they might just be hanging out, I mean he did help her try to win last season. It wouldn't be surprising to hear that they are friends or at least-"

"That's a nice thought baby but we have to look at things realistically here. Heather does not make friends, not unless there's something in it for her. We have to tell Gwen about this." Leshawna said this, a glint of annoyance apparent in her eyes.

"I'm not so sure...that's a good idea, I mean Gwen and her have always been butting heads since day 1. Something like this could cause a lot of problems." Bridgette said this, a look of uncertainty on her face. "Hey Gwen and string bean are still friends, despite the feud between him and Duncan. She deserves to know that witch is trying to mess with him." While Harold may have been a little socially inept at times, he had to agree with Bridgette on this point, telling Gwen was a very bad idea. "We'll Cody's my friend to he should get the chance to give his side before we do anything. Please let me talk to him.'

Leshawna was a little skeptical of this, she knew Harold had at least some form of contact with the two in question. "I don't know...part of me feels Gwen still deserves to be aware of this."

"Please just give me the chance to clear the air, if I sense that anything is wrong then you can talk to Gwen. Please Leshawna my strong willed beauty." Harold threw in that comment , knowing flattery couldn't hurt.

"We'll because it's you asking baby...alright. But if you sense anything wrong you have to tell me okay?" She batted her eyelashes at the end of this sentence, knowing the boy couldn't resist. Eventually he nodded, which satisfied the two girls.

Unseen by the group two eavesdroppers were listening in, both unaware of the other. One redhead withdrew back into the ventilation shaft she had been listening from, while the other turned back down the hall darkly, hand scratching at the still healing burns on his skin.

* * *

><p><strong>Cafe<strong>

"Finally, that run you took us on made us almost end up on the other side of town." Cody rubbed the back of his head a little embarrassedly, knowing he had looked a little foolish. "S-Sorry Heather, I guess I got a little excited. Between Owen and Staci it's been kind of hard to get to the dessert tray." Heather snorted at this as she entered the cafe, a cross expression on her face.

"I can't argue with that, dealing with Owen for three seasons was hard enough, but dealing with his female versions annoying voice is a step too far. It's part of the reason I eat in town more than I do at the resort."

"Hey Owen's a nice guy, he doesn't mean to do half the stuff he does. Plus he's a good competitor and lucky as hell." Heather sighed as they got into line. "Maybe, but his luck rarely extends to those around him. And when he does screw up he tends to take everyone around him down as well. He's a wrecking ball, even if it's a good natured one."

Cody was going to say more when they reached the counter. A bored looking guy with piercings and blonde hair sat behind the desk, eyes glancing over the two. "Oh it's you, the usual I suppose?" He spoke this in a monotone voice, eyes focused back on his magazine. "Yes, but please include a couple of those chocolate volcano's as well."

The guy sighed, putting his magazine down and standing up. a few movements and everything was made, set before the two. Heather went to pay for it but Cody beat her to it, placing a ten on the counter. "What?" Cody said at Heathers upraised look. "The guy is always suppose to pay if it's the same order."

"Don't get cocky nerd-face, we may be friendly at the moment but I'm above petty flattery." Picking up the tray she headed for the corner of the cafe, sitting down with her back to the wall. She picked picked up the coffee, taking a sip with a contented sigh. Cody for his part gave a small nibble to the chocolate structure. Tasting the mixture of dark and white chocolate an almost manic look appeared on his face, wolfing down the treat in an instant. He was about halfway through the second one before he remembered where he was.

"Oh s-sorry it's just-" Heather waved him off, her face a mixture of amusement and slight nausea. "Never mind, let's just get to the point. As you know I was on Chris's blimp when I tried to steal the money. However that wasn't the only thing I stole..."

_Flashback_

_As Lightning was hurled back out of the blimp Heather roared in rage, watching as the million dollars escaped her grasp once again."GOD DAMN IT NOT AGAIN!" This rage was ended as self-preservation took over and she blitzed for the door to the blimp As she was about to leap out of the aircraft she saw a briefcase sitting near his king bed. This in itself was not unusual except for the fact out of all the nice things in this place, it was the only normal looking one. Curiosity peaked she snatched it before jumping out of the blimp just as it crashed down._

_End Flashback._

Ending the story Heathers face took on its familiar scowl, the loss of the money still stinging her. Cody noticed this and knew he had to derail her from it. "So, what was in the briefcase?" Heather came out of her anger, focusing back on the topic at hand.

"Right, most of it was nothing important, product deals and anything else Chris can try to use to squeeze out a buck. But there were two things of interest. The first one is this." Reaching into her purse she pulled a few golf balls from it. Cody looked at her confused by them until he saw the numbers written on them. "Hey those are the golf balls Chris used to bean you with for the final challenge. But I'm confused, why are these important?"

Heather pulled another from her purse, handing it over to him. "This was the one I hacked up in the booth, compare it to the others and tell me what you see." Cody read the three balls, not seeing any difference between them. After a minute his eyes looked up, astonished. "Th-They're all the same...they all have the same challenge written down! Are you sure these are real?"

Heather nodded, taking the balls and flipping them to the side, showing the hated hosts face imprinted in the sight. "Oh these are them all right, Chris rigged it so that challenge would be the one chosen. Remember surfer girl said they had used ping pong balls originally? Chris substituted them to give Alejandro the best chance at beating you."

Cody looked at her, eyes both enraged and confused. "I don't get why though? It's not like he didn't have a clear advantage anyway." Heather shook her head, picking up the balls and placing them back in her purse.

"Which do you think would get better ratings, Alejandro facing me in the finals or you? No one had expected you to win so he chose a challenge he knew you had almost zero chance of winning. I **asked Bridgette **about some of the alternate challenges and there were some you might have had a chance at winning. This isn't the first time this has happened either."

"Wait you mean that wasn't a onetime deal?" Heather shook her head as she pulled a list out of her pocket, looking down the chart.

"In TDA the original finalists were supposed to be a showdown between Courtney and Duncan, but Chris hadn't predicted that Duncan would vote her out. So he made it into a physically and mentally challenging race, and when that ended in a tie he put it to a vote. There was no way the fans or cast wouldn't have voted for Duncan as opposed to Beth. It also happened in Australia, we were originally supposed to start when all our teammates arrived. Owen taking his sweet time would have cost them the win but Chris forced us to sing that stupid song which gave him time to catch up. I could go on but I think you see the point."

Cody was looking down at his treat, absently prodding it with his fork. "So Chris rigged the challenges to make sure certain people either were almost guaranteed to win or were nearly equal to boost the ratings. I wish that could surprise me. While this is...disappointing I don't understand what we can do with this."

"The information on its own isn't important, but the second piece combined with it is important. The real reason Chris brought in those newbie's besides getting some fresh morons to torture, is so that he can set up a fifth season, he's going to take 22 us for what he calls "Total Drama Fan Favorites". Most of the list was destroyed but I saw your name as well as mine on it. We're going to be competing and I have to bet all those other jerks will be to."

Cody for the first time in the conversation looked at her warily, Noah's words of caution kicking in. "Just what are you saying Heather?" Placing her bag on the table she sighed before looking him in the eye, the fire that had been in them for three seasons blasting forward. "I want you to join me in an alliance, and together you and I will take down those assholes and win."

* * *

><p><strong>Yes It's going to be a battle to end all battles. This won't be your run of the mill episodes though, once this thing gets going I intend to make them dark, and I mean really dark. The question I put to you is who will be competing this season? Here's the list of people I've already decided on. Cody, Heather, Noah, Izzy, Duncan, Gwen, Courtney and Alejandro. It's up to you to determine which 14 players will be in the game. Be warned though if you put them in the story bad things may happen to them. So let me know and next chapter I'll put up a finalized list. Anyways see you next time.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4: Negotiation

**Chapter 4 is set for takeoff. Sorry for the delay but I just got back from spring break and had midterms the week before that. Anyways I've read you reviews those of you who did review and have decided on the lists. However they won't be starting the fifth season until I see who the winner of the 4th is. Anyways here's the list of old and new listed below. Keep in mind this list may be tweaked before the finished product. Others not listed will either be in the Aftermath show or make cameo appearances. Anyways let me know what you think and enjoy the story.**

**Old Returning Castmates**

**Alejandro**

**Bridgette**

**Cody**

**DJ**

**Duncan**

**Eva**

**Geoff**

**Gwen**

**Harold**

**Heather **

**Izzy**

**Leshawna**

**Lindsay**

**Trent**

**New Contestants**

**B**

**Brick**

**Dawn **

**Joe**

**Mike**

**Sam **

**Scott**

**Zoey**

**Cafe**

Following Heathers statement an unusual science fell over the table, Cody looking at Heather blankly as she sat in front of him, his thoughts hidden internally. Heather for her part sat there, taking a sip every now and then of her coffee while she waited for his reply. Finally after a minute or so he spoke up.

"Before I agree or disagree to anything...I'll want to ask you a few questions." Heather grinned a little behind her cup before setting it back down, a neutral expression on her face. "Fire away."

"We'll I guess we'll start with the obvious. Why do you want an alliance with me?" Heather huffed a little, disappointed by the question. "Because I want to win captain obvious, why else?"

"I mean why **me** specifically? You're not the kind of person to do things on a whim and while I'm not the worse competitor in this thing I'm certainly not the strongest. So why?" Heather lost the attitude, now seeing the point to his question.

"Ah I see. Well first off I don't have the most sparkling reputation as you and I both know. While I don't regret any of my actions I definitely have made a lot of enemies during my time. A lot of people wouldn't even hear me out as far as you have, or would rat on me the first chance they got. Your dependable, a fairly good competitor and unlikely to stab me in the back, so there you go."

Cody nodded his head, cheeks just a little bit red at the compliment. "Well that's good to hear, umm alright next question. What makes you think we could win? Like you said you're not the most popular at the moment and could potentially be picked off at the beginning. And a lot of my success last season was due to everyone being too afraid of Sierra to try messing with me? I don't think the odds are very high in our favor."

Heather smirked, leaning back a bit and putting her hands behind her head. "Normally you'd be right but you're missing a few details. First while I may not be the nicest person in the world I have learned to be a little more subtle. The emergence of other villain characters and grudges has also split a lot of the attention away. Finally let's not forget that a lot of suspicion is going to be thrown towards whatever newbie's are picked for the game. Better the devil they know than the one they don't, so they say."

"Well I suppose. I guess there's only one question I have left." Heather nodded, already knowing what it was. "Why should you trust me, and what's in it for you?" Cody nodded back, eyes looking down at his plate. "I-It's not like I don't think you've changed, you have become a little bit nicer since the 1st season. But you have to understand I've seen what you're willing to do for a million dollars. And it wouldn't be the first time you double crossed someone. If I'm going to help you I need to know if I can trust you."

Heather sighed a little, placing her coffee cup back on the table. "I'll say only two things in my own defense. Number one, I never broke a promise unless the person broke their side of the deal or circumstances forced me to do so. Beth and Lindsay are text book examples of this, had things gone my way we all would have made it to the final three. I would have beaten them, but I would have kept my word. So I give you mine right now, if either of us should win this contest I will split the money with you 50/50. What do you say?"

Saying this she reached across the table, her hand outstretched to take his hand. Cody almost grabbed, only to pull his hand back as his eyes slanted a little in caution. "You said two things in your defense. What was the second?" Heather frowned a little at this, but with a defeated huff pulled her hand away. "Right, obviously if we're going to win this game we're going to need some alliance members to help control the vote. As a sign of confidence in this rel- **partnership** I will allow you to suggest members and choose who gets the votes." Cody's eyes went from cautious to surprise, the enormity of this move not passing by him. "Y-You'd give me control of the alliance?"

Heather nodded in agreement, although she showed she clearly did not enjoy it. "It's the only way this partnership is going to work. Regardless of who we choose they are going to listen to you and not me anyway. If I tried to give orders they'd probably expose us. And if you ever start to suspect that I'm going to break my end of the bargain you can boot me from the game."

Heather leaned closer to Cody, brushing her hair back as it threatened to spill over her face. "But that's not going to happen because neither of us will win if we don't work together. I need your help in staying in this game and you'll need my help taking down the tougher contestants. And you know you'll need it."

Narrowing her eyes she stared him in the eye, something that made Cody want to squirm, although from anticipation or fear he couldn't tell. "I need to know Cody, are you in or not?"

* * *

><p><strong>Plaza De Losers<strong>

Gwen sighed as she laid back by the pool in her black bikini, the shade from the umbrella shielding her from the bright sun. Gwen normally was not the biggest outdoor person in the world, but following her subsequent burial with the videogame nerd, she would take in as much open space as she could get.

_Speaking of said nerd..._Gwen thought as she watched Sam and Dakota sitting back to back, or rather back too lower back. Dakota was still mutated from her experience on the show, and was frustratingly trying to send a text on a phone five sizes too small for her hand. Sam who up until that moment had been playing furiously on his DS noticed his girlfriends predicament, took the phone from her and began typing the message for her, while she gave him a kiss on the cheek in thanks.. It was a very sweet sight, weird, but sweet none the less.

"Never thought I'd see an actual mutant in life, or see one with a boyfriend. Man my life has gotten weird." Shrugging her shoulders Gwen closed her eyes to take a small snooze. Lord knows she could use one.

"Yes well I'd say this show definitely brings out the weirdo's in life, wouldn't you agree chica?" Gwen's eyes opened up to see Alejandro leaning on a wall close by, dressed in his usual red shirt. The former Latin heartthrob was still quite handsome even after the months of care and hospital stays, though the more serious burns were still present on him, albeit healing at a slow rate. One particularly vicious scar shaped a half broken moon across his eye, looking both alluring and intimidating (Katie and Sadie's words personally).

This did little to phase Gwen though, the Goth raising an eyebrow neutrally at him. "Hello Darth Al, nice to see you out of your tin suit. To what do I owe the displeasure of this visit?" Alejandro's eyes widened for a brief moment, unused to being addressed so disrespectfully from the female gender. Or at least in a hostile way. "I happened to be walking by and seeing you relaxing so peacefully by the pool, I thought it might be nice to take this moment to chat. We never really got much of a chance to get to know each other."

Gwen snorted at this, crossing her arms across her chest. "I think we know each other plenty, considering how you exposed Duncan and I last season. Don't think that little fact has slipped by him either **Al**." Alejandro's eye twitched at the use of the dreaded name, but only for the second it took for a grin to cross his face.

"Yeah cause I'm supposed to be frightened of the guy who got taken down by the ladies fool and uber nerd? For a bad boy he doesn't take a beating particularly well. Although it seems your choice in suitors has always-"

"Enough!" Gwen said standing up and clenching her fists, marching up to glare Alejandro in the eye. "If you have something to say then say it. otherwise get lost!" Alejandro was surprised by the short temper in the dark haired girl, giving a small chuckle at her anger. _She and Heather have more in common than..._

The memory of his former crush, as well as the blow she had delivered to both his body and pride, wiped the smirk off his face. "If you insist my lady of the night, I heard an interesting piece of information a little while ago, one involving our resident tech perv and the _**bruja**_." Gwen's expression went from angry to interested, curiosity momentarily overpowering her irritation. "Cody and Heather? Not that I keep tabs on Heather, as we are such "good" friends, what could possibly be interesting regarding the two of them?"

Alejandro was about to answer when a loud war cry yelled out above them. The two had just enough time to look up to see Izzy leaping above them from the second story of the plaza, a manic grin on her face. Hitting the water with a boom she sent up a large wave from the pool, the force of it managing to defy all physics and knock the two over.

Groaning Alejandro stood up from where he had landed, soaked to the bone from the wave. No sooner had he stood up though then he was knocked down again, this time by an irate Gwen who was on her feet, black mascara running down her face in twin lines. She cast a scathing look at the redheaded psycho before looking down at Alejandro, scowl deepening on her face.

"You know what, I have better things and better people to be hanging out with. Thanks for the tidbit of gossip, but if I wanted to hear about baloney rumors I'd simply turn on The View. Cya later **Al**." Not waiting for a reply she turned away and stomped off, heading back towards the hotel part of the resort. Alejandro watched her walk off for a moment before turning back to Izzy, who had just climbed out of the pool.

"Would you mind explaining why you ruined a perfectly pleasant conversation, Izzy my dear?" The redhead laughed as she rung her hair between her hands, getting the water out. "Oh Alejandro, haven't you heard about the boy who told the crow's secret to the world?" Alejandro became completely confused, lost by the seemingly nonsense question. Before he could say anything Izzy leaned closer to him, a cold smile replacing her usual one. "I hear the boy got pecked to death by the crow's friends, something you might want to keep in mind. After all, I did get my license to kill renewed. Bye Bye."

Izzy walked off leaving Alejandro alone by the pool, the sun just starting to fall behind the resort.

* * *

><p><strong>Cafe<strong>

"Alright I'm in." Heather clapped her hands together, a pleased look on her face. "Excellent, now before we-"

"I didn't finish, I'll agree to work with you but on one condition." Heather frowned a little, not liking the sound of this. "Fine, what is it?" Cody gulped a little, bracing himself for the inevitable explosion. "Whoever we bring into this alliance, they get a share of the prize money as well."

"WHAT?" Heather yelled out, jumping straight out of her chair. Once she noticed the stares she was getting from the cafe's other patrons she sat back down, leaning over the table to whisper in Cody's ear. "You can't be serious, it's hard enough for me to split the money with you, and you at least have some respect. Do you really expect me to take a smaller piece of the pie?" She almost hissed this last part, anger very recognizable in her voice

Cody nodded his head, despite how close the girl was leaning near him. "Heather whoever I bring into this partnership is going to be friend and I'm not going to throw them under the bus. Either we all win some of the money or none of us is going to. So what's it going to be?" Heather ground her teeth at this, she hated the thought of giving away more of her share. Eventually she calmed down and begrudgingly stuck her hand out

"Fine, I accept. But let's be clear on this, if any of them betray this alliance in any way they forfeit their share. Correct?" Cody hesitated for a moment, but eventually reached forward and clasped his hand with hers. Once he did Heather's face took on a warm smile, her posture relaxing in satisfaction.

"We'll work out the details and the game plan tomorrow, for now we should get back to the resort. We wouldn't want people to start wondering where we are." Standing up the two of them left the cafe as the sun began to descend, bathing the town in an orange gold light. In the corner of the store a pair of eyes watched as the two left the shop. Calmly sipping her tea she watched the two walk by the window, a small smile on her face.

_Their aura's...are so interesting right now. Perhaps they can help me after all._

* * *

><p><strong>And scene. Thanks everyone for being patient with me. Things have been kind of hectic for me this summer in terms of work and time, but I hope to do more writing in the near future Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you have any ideas for upcoming ones let me know. Thanks and see you at the next update.<strong>


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